The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 09, 1994, Image 1

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The Battalion
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1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Wednesday, February 9,1994
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peration Rescue headquarters moving to Dallas
The Associated Press
DALLAS — After four years at the
elm of a controversial anti-abortion
roup, the Rev. Keith Tucci said Mon-
ay it is time to relinquish the leader-
reins of Operation Rescue National.
As a result of his departure, the
roup's headquarters will move from
ummerville, S.C., to Dallas where new
xecutive director the Rev. Flip Benham
vill run the organization known for
blockading abortion clinics.
Tucci, 37, said that while he has many
ther Ifc
ne count
segregate
■aid he i
it when
international demands from countries
faced with a “frontal assault on pro-life
laws," the time was right to step aside.
The decision, Tucci said, was made
before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last
month that protesters who block access
to abortion clinics or conspire to stop
women from having abortions may be
sued as racketeers.
Tucci said he twice faced racketeering
charges that were dropped for lack of
merit.
He said the ruling wasn't a factor in
his leaving and the group remains strong.
"I think we have more grassroots sup
port and more church support than we've
ever had," he said.
But Bill Price, president of Dallas-
based Texans United for Life, questioned
the timing and said he views the move as
a “sign of the disintegration of Operation
Rescue."
“I think the Supreme Court on Jan. 24
put Operation Rescue and their style of
protest out of business," he said.
Benham, a 45-year-old reformed alco
holic who once considered abortion a vi
able option, said in spite of the court deci
sion and other challenges, "we are going
to pick up the cross."
"The face has changed, the theology is
exactly the same," he said.
Benham said he started a Free
Methodist Church in his home in Gar
land, Texas, and served as pastor for 12
years before becoming director of the lo
cal Operation Rescue in 1992.
Benham expects more Operation Res
cue activities in Dallas, although no spe
cific events are scheduled.
The group is planning to join with 400
churches near Birmingham, Ala., from
March 25 to April 2, he said.
Overall, the group has had 70,000 civil
disobedience arrests, said spokeswoman
Wendy Wright from Melbourne, Fla.,
where the group has operated a satellite
office since January 1993.
On Monday, authorities in Tarrant
County, where the ethics trial of U.S. Sen.
Kay Bailey Hutchison is underway, re
ceived two telephone bomb threats relat
ing to an upcoming trial of Operation
Rescue protesters.
Benham said the group was not re
sponsible for the threats, which turned
out to be a hoax.
Chemical exposure
feared after lab fire
n
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an tor an
company
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(student;
fire broke out in a laboratory
in the Chemistry Building
Tuesday night that was
contained by the College
tation Fire Department.
No one was injured in the fire,
hich broke out just before 8 p.m.
1 Morgan Cook, battalion chief of
_—.— the fire department, said the fire
Rras contained in the laboratory in
Koom 1116 and most of the damage
■/as confined to that area. There
P/as minor smoke damage affecting
pae second and third floors of the
; building.
y wron® "We are being cautious because
mrgesflflre don't know what's there," he
jmocratfsaid. "Anytime we go to a lab, we
ittempt suspect there's something to be
ave demftreful about."
aninpuj William Kennedy, fire chief of
Bie department, said the fire appar-
j SO n wo: ently started on a table in the center
ctionthi of the room and broke steam pipes.
Benli, "This could have been a major
reasuin thing," he said. "There were chem-
, re .el«: icals in the room, but they were
j&ound the outer perimeter. It may
victory/ have burned a few, but not that
t attorn had."
e Treasil Kennedy said there was no way
d eatte to know whether students were ex-
Mary Macmanus/THE Battalion
posed to any chemical vapors.
"You never know," he said. "All
I can tell students is, 'If you were
involved in something like this,
stick around and talk to the para
medics.'"
A spill response team was on
hand to wash down all equipment
and fire suits.
Kennedy said the cooperation
among University Police and stu
dents was excellent and helped
prevent a potential disaster.
"The scene went as well as it
could under the circumstances," he
said. "We didn't have a problem at
all."
Some students ignored warn
ings and entered the building
through back doors, but UPD and
A&M security officers made them
leave.
Lt. Cabrina Smith said only the
middle section of the U-shaped
building was affected, but students
and faculty were evacuated from
the entire building as a precaution.
Darlene Kennedy, coordinator
of the Texas A&M department of
safety and health, said the cause of
the blaze was undetermined, but
the laboratory would be inspected
by fire department investigators
and the professor responsible for
the lab.
Sarajevo buries bomb victims,
remembers 1984 Olympics
The Associated Press
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| SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Ten years after welcoming the
to coif world's finest athletes to the 1984 Winter Games, Sarajevo marked the
^eal anniversary Tuesday by laying to rest more of its war dead in the shad-
AfteP 0w of the wrecked Olympic stadium.
[•30p,fl! The stadium, now a base for French peacekeepers, has been ruined
om’sd' bv shelling in a 22-month war that has killed more than 200,000 Mus-
g f j.gpf' lims, Serbs and Croats. The Bosnian capital is shell of its former self,
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See Sarajevo/Page 8
>ED
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4
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Inside
—
Sports
•Lady Aggies basketball team
travels to U.T. for rematch
•Smith: Overzealous Tech
fans give sports a bad name
Page 5
Opinion
•Editorial: Ending Vietnam
embargo will be good for
everyone
•Magee: Success is not
measured by degrees.
Page 7
Students find religious expression
with African-American churches
■
■
■
Voices of Praise, a Texas A&M religious choir, performs at United Missionary Baptist Church.
Stew Milne/The Battalion
By Kim McGuire
The Battalion
A s the bass guitar and drum tap out
k a subtle but commanding beat, and
4 I the sweet, soulful union of sopra
no, alto and bass voices swell to the cho
rus of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,"
it's easy to understand why Keena Harris
feels closer to God when she sings.
"This is more than a choir rehearsal,"
Harris said. "It's a praise service.
Harris, a Voices of Praise gospel choir
member and a senior engineering technol
ogy major, said the choir members minis
ter to each other through the music when
they sing.
Like Harris, many African-American
students at Texas A&M treasure their reli
gion and spirituality.
Many play active roles within their
churches or practice other means of wor
ship through Bible studies or music.
Mance Adams, a Voices of Praise mem
ber and a senior engineering technology
major, said music is a spiritual means of
expressing devotion to God.
"Music affects a part of you you don't
even know exists," Adams said. "Whatev
er is in the heart comes and affects the
spiritual life of both the singer and the lis
tener."
Similarly, Aval Allen, a sophomore ed
ucational health major, said she fulfills a
part of her spiritual needs by singing in
Voices of Praise.
"Voices of Praise is more than just a
choir," Allen said. "We get the message
through the music. It's definitely a form
of praise."
Churches play an integral role in the
lives of many students.
Dozens of African-American churches
are scattered throughout the community,
and students are faced with making a per
sonal choice.
Allen, who attends Lilly of the Valley
Church of God in Christ, said she joined
her church because of its charisma. She
describes her church as an all-out praise
fest.
"It's a total abandonment of being con
servative," she said. "There's singing,
dancing, clapping and sometimes you
can't hear the pastor because everyone is
shouting 'Amen' and 'Hallelujah.'"
Andrew Green, son of the Rev. Maurice
Green of Lilly of the Valley Church of God
in Christ and a senior chemistry major, de
scribes the church as lively.
"It's full of life, love and is full of
praise," Green said. "Praising by clapping
the hands, jumping up and down and say
ing 'Hallelujah."
Many students acknowledge differ
ences between predominately African-
American and predominately white
churches, but they said God crosses all
racial boundaries.
Thaunia Shea, a white member of Voic
es of Praise and a senior microbiology ma
jor, said it is purely a matter of personal
choice.
"I've been to both, and I feel freer to ex
press my spirituality at predominately
African-American churches," Shea said.
"There's no social barriers at these church
es. Everyone is there for the same rea
sons."
See Churches/ Page 3
•s'
■-
Bush library to attract thousands. Gage says
By Melissa Jacobs
The Battalion
The George Bush Presidential
Library will attract 400,000 visi
tors to Bryan-College Station
every year, said Texas A&M In
terim President E. Dean Gage at
the 1994 Economic Outlook Con
ference Tuesday at the Hilton.
Gage said the $83 million pro
ject is a showcase for the entire
community, but it will have an
impact on Texas as well.
"Texas will be the only state
with two presidential libraries
linked to universities with major
research facilities," he said.
The library also will bring fed
eral employees who will be per
manently located here.
O.C. Brown, supervisor of
fleet operations for GTE, said the
library will have a great econom
ic impact on the community.
"I think the library will be
very good for our community,"
Brown said.
"It will attract a considerable
amount of visitors which leads to
a great influx of dollars."
But Jim Gardner, College Sta
tion city councilman, said the
economic impact of the library
will not be as great as many peo
ple are expecting because
tourists have a short-term im
pact.
"I haven't
traveled to a
great number
of presidential
libraries, but I
have traveled
to a few, and it
is a one-time
visit," Gardner
said.
The library,
built on a 90-
acre site on
A&M's west
campus, will include a museum
display, museum storage,
archival storage, secure vault
storage and staff offices.
A great amount of material for
Bush
the library has already arrived,
including several million pages
on the political career of Bush.
Other items include a display
showing the name of every
American who died in Kuwait,
gifts given to Bush during his
presidency, and furniture that
belonged to Bush.
While other presidential li
braries have a replica of the Oval
Office, the Bush Library will be
the only presidential library with
a replica of the office at Camp
David.
The piece of the Berlin Wall
that was dedicated to A&M last
spring will be moved to the li
brary as well.